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JAVA'S LAND


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the land: A volcanic chain of mountains extends the whole length of the island: 15 volcanoes are above 3000 m and 44 are between 2-3000 m. There's a vast contrast between the sluggish muddy isle-enclosed Java Sea of the north coast, and the wild deserted shoreline of the South Sea, where the continental shelf drops off sharply into the Indian Ocean and tremendous waves crash against steep dangerous beaches. Most manufacturing and processing in Indonesia takes place on Java. The main manufactured products of Java are tea, tobacco, foods, beverages, rubber, textiles, timber. In East Java there are many sugar cane plantations. Java's level of fertility is without parallel in any equatorial land elsewhere and mostof its people make their living by farming. Because of the miraculously rich volcanic soil, farmers often harvest 2 or even 3 rice crops a year; maize grows in 7 weeks and a banana tree in 10 weeks. Some irrigation systems are over 2000 years old. There isn't enough land to go around and, since large families are common, land is split up many times among sons and daughters. Javanese farmers must make a living for their families of 5 and 6 children from the same space that an average Australian farm family uses to park its cars and tractors.

The average holding has now dropped to 0.6 hectare of land per family (about 2 acres) with 0.3 being for rice, and the rest the family uses as fruit and vegetable gardens, house and stables. Only 7% of Java's land is cultivated by estates as compared to about 93% managed by smallholders. Steep hills are laboriously terraced, sometimes only one meter wide, by handtool methods. Everything that grows on Java has its use and nothing is thrown away unless it's made into compost or used to feed chickens. Rocks and stones are removed by hand and stray soil is swept up with brooms and returned to the paddy. In principle, land is village owned and established villagers have a right to work land which was cultivated by their ancestors. Shifting cultivation is almost unknown, cattle are seldom raised. Java has been without arable forest land since before WWII, since all its forests have been cut down to make room for people and for ricegrowing. No more forests can be cleared for farming or for firewood without increasing the very serious erosion problem even more. It is already a race against time. The funds which are directed for re-forestation and extensive terracing only get siphoned off as they travel down the long pipeline of offices and departments. The Javanese farmer won't begin terracing a whole hillside for Rp2000. Meanwhile the topsoil of Java is sliding into the sea; the whole island might be a desert by the year 2050.


 

 



 

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